Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Director George E. Deese Buys 6,000 Shares

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) Director George E. Deese bought 6,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.84 per share, with a total value of $101,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,004,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,764,031.60. This represents a 0.30% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of FLO traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,067,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,658,037. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.26. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.29 and a 1-year high of $23.87.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.85%. This is a boost from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is currently 91.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FLO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 617.3% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 904.8% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,502 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc produces and markets packaged bakery food products in the United States. Its principal products include fresh breads, buns, rolls, snack items, bagels, English muffins, and tortillas, as well as frozen breads and rolls under the Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Mrs.